“Borrowing the language of public health, the FCC and others argue that even a single exposure to such language and
undress [on television] is a dangerous toxin for children, like lead in paint. Unfortunately, our relying on these groups to
protect children from media is misguided, since they’re addressing the wrong problem. The danger isn’t the
occasional F-word or exposed breast, but the other messages encouraging unhealthy behavior.

The solution relies on teaching children how to deconstruct media and consume it critically —
thus making them ‘media-literate.’ ‘Making children aware of how they are manipulated, writes
Dr. Michael Rich
, Director of CMCH, in a medical journal, ‘functions as a ‘mind condom,’
a barrier method [which protects] against the unhealthy influences of media.'”